"An earthquake of this size is not large enough to cause any damage whatsoever, but if you were close to it you would feel significant shaking," Halchuk told CBC News.

Earthquakes in the area are rare occurrences, according to Halchuk.

"There is a scattering of earthquake activity that extends from the Gulf of St. Lawrence up through Quebec and Labrador past Happy Valley–Goose Bay [but] it's usually small. The last earthquake I can find of this size in the region happened about 50 years ago, in 1962 actually," said Halchuk.